Blockchain

The Finnish telecommunications group Nokia is now also jumping on the blockchain train. They are currently looking for solutions to store data from the healthcare sector. In cooperation with the OP Financial Group, the Finns have launched a pilot project to store movement and health profiles securely, anonymously and decentrally.

Health data is a sensitive issue. While patient-related information circulates between doctors and health insurance companies, it is constantly exposed to a certain level of publicity. At the same time, however, they also contain patients’ personal information on the course and history of their illness. This (meta) data also includes data that can be captured via mobile devices. Fitness apps record how much we walk, sweat and sleep. This results in personality profiles that are on the one hand very useful when evaluated. On the other hand, however, they are personal and worth protecting.

Nokia wants to create trust with the Bitcoin news

Nokia is now developing a blockchain solution to explore this gap between the public and private Bitcoin news spheres as efficiently as possible. According to a review about Bitcoin news, they started their project together with the OP Financial Group. Currently, 100 participants are testing ways to best store and share health data while protecting privacy.

The technology allows the company, which is particularly well known for its mobile phones, to maintain an overview of the collected data. At the same time, the blockchain allows only verified parties to access the data. In their statement they state:

“Although the potential of interconnected health data is widely acknowledged, it is often not fully exploited. This happens precisely for reasons of authenticity, availability and privacy. Trust is an important requirement that health data can provide the greatest benefit to individuals, families and our global society”.

In order to create trust, blockchain technology is particularly useful in relation to data. First and foremost, with its decentralization, it offers protection against administration and possible misuse by corporations. The use of Smart Contracts can also help to protect the data. In the end, individual users can retain more control over their data than is the case with a centralized, institutional approach.

To this end, all data provided by the users of the Bitcoin news technology is encrypted

In the end, access only has a verified authority, in this case the Bitcoin news Financial Group. Nokia will then also verify the data. What they ultimately evaluate is only the relevant (meta) data, without any direct reference to the Bitcoin news.

Kristian Luoma, head of OP, is happy about this cooperation:

“We are very happy about the cooperation with Nokia. It’s great to see how the blockchain is applied in a field that needs trust […]. This pilot project is an example of the technologies we will use in the future in innovative collaboration to create value”.

In the test program, they use portable devices, among other things, to record the number of steps per day and the amount of sleep. This data is then stored on the blockchain. The developers then compare the results with the fitness goals of the users. The users who get closer to their goal and use the program will then receive digital loyalty points.

According to Nokia, the pilot project aims to provide insights and solutions to global health issues. A rapprochement between blockchain and healthcare already exists in the USA. There, however, the focus is more on the handling of patient files. The advantages of this technology have been recognized in the area of data backup in particular.